Japanese Immigration 



AN EXPOSITION OF ITS 
REAL STATUS 



PREPARED AND PUBLISHED BY 

TKe Japanese Association oi tke Pacific NortWest 

Seaiile, Waskington, 1907 



Japanese Iminigration 

AN EXPOSITION OF ITS 
REAL STATUS 



9ft? 9J9 9ij9 



PREPARED AND PUBLISHED BY 

Tne Japanese Association or the Pacific Nortnwest 
Seaftle, Waskington, 1907 






GENERAL 




LITHOGRAPHING 
AND PRINTING CO. 
SEATTLE. u. SiA. 






LETTERS OF ENDORSEMENT 

In presenting this pamphlet to the public, the Japan- 
ese Association of the Pacific Northwest, which is re- 
sponsible for its publication, has the honor to call par- 
ticular attention to the following two letters addressed 
to this Association by the Seattle Chamber of Commerce 
and the Tacoma Chamber of Commerce and Board of 
Trade, respectively, endorsing the statements contained 
in this publication: 

LETTER FROM THE SEATTLE CHAMBER OF 
COMMERCE. 

Seattle, Washington, Nov. 20th, 1907. 

Hon. C. T. Takahashi, 

President Japanese Association, 
Seattle, Wash. 

Dear Sir: 

I have to advise you that the offi- 
cers of this Chamber have examined the 
contents of the paper entitled ''Japanese 
Immigration: An Exposition of Its Real 
Status,** and take pleasure in informing 
you that, in our judgment, its contents 
are a fair and accurate exposition of 
conditions as they exist on the Pacific 
Coast. 



It is noted that the figures, which 
were used throughout, were taken from the 
statistics compiled by the Bureau of Com- 
merce and Labour, which, in itself, is 
the best evidence of the desire of the 
author to present the facts in the case, 
which, when analyzed, speak for them- 
selves. 

Yours very truly, 

(Signed) 




LETTER FROM THE TACOMA CHAMBER OF 
COMMERCE AND BOARD OF TRADE. 

Tacoma, Wash., Nov. 15th, 1907. 

Hon. C. T. Takahasdi, 

Chairman Japanese Association, 
Seattle, Washington. 

Dear Sir: 

The copy of the memorial pre- 
pared by you, which we understand is 
to be presented to Congress, was consid- 
ered by a special committee of our board, 
and they have reported that they have 
gone carefully over the matter and believe 
the statements made therein are correct, 
and assure our board that in view of these 
statements we were warranted in passing 

II. 



the resolutions that were adopted by our 
board on April 29th, 1907. 

We would be pleased, when you have 
this matter in book form, to have a few 
of them for our organization so we may give 
our members as a whole the benefit of 
your findings. 

Very truly yours, 

(Signed 




*See Appendix II, pp. 38-40. 

ni. 



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in 2010 with funding from 
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CONTENTS 

Page. 
Letters of Endorsement I.-III. 

Introduction 1-3 

1. Object of this pamphlet 1 

2. Scope of this i)amphlet 1 

3. Source of information 2 

PART I.^ — Extent of Japanese Immigration 5-8 

1. Yearly totals of Japanese immigrants 5 

2. Volume of Japanese immigration as com- 
pared with that of European peoples 7 

PAE-T II. — Destinations of Japanese Immigrants.... 9-12 

PART III. — Nature of Japanese Immigration 13-20 

1. What classes Japanese immigrants come 
from 13 

2. Financial condition of Japanese immi- 
grants 15 

3. Japanese immigrants classified by age 17 

4. Educational condition of Japanese immi- 
grants 19 

PART IV. — Economic Questions Attendant Upon 

Japanese Immigration 21-29 

1. Effect of Japanese immigration upon the 
wages of American workingmen 21 

2. Effect of Japanese immigration upon the 
mercantile business on the Pacific Coast.... 25 

3. Shortage of labor on the Pacific Coast 26 



PART V. — Are Japanese Immigrants Unassimil- 

ABLE ? 31-34 

Appendix : 

1. Resolution of the Seattle Chamber of 
Commerce relative to Japanese immigra- 
tion 37 

2. Resolution of the Tacoma Chamber of 
Commerce and Board of Trade Relative 

to Japanese immigration 38 

3. Resolution of the Portland Chamber of 
Commerce relative to Japanese immigra- 
tion 40 

4. A letter addressed by the San Francisco 
Chamber of Commerce to the Japanese 
Association of America 41 

5.. Resolution of the Los Angeles Chamber of 
Commerce relative to the treatment of the 
Japanese school children in California.— 42 

6. A joint appeal addressed by the Chambers 
of Commerce of Tokyo, Kyoto, Yoko- 
hama, Osaka and Kobe to the principal 
Chambers of Commerce of the United 
States 44 

7. Reply of the Seattle Chamber of Com- 
merce to the same.... 45 

8. Reply of the Chambers of Commerce of 
Tokyo, Kyoto, Yokohama, Osaka and 
Kobe to the above 47 

9. A joint appeal addressed by the Chambers 
of Commerce of Tokyo, Kyoto, Yokohama, 
Osaka and Kobe to the President of the 
United States 48 



Japanese Immigration 

AN EXPOSITION OF ITS REAL STATUS 



INTRODUCTION. 

1.. Object of This Pamphlet. 
In view of the fact that the exclusion of Japanese im- 
migrants seems to be seriously considered in certain quar- 
ters in this country, the Japanese Association of the 
Pacific Northwest has deemed it proper to make a special 
investigation into the real status of Japanese immigra- 
tion, with a view to submitting its result to those directly 
concerned with the solution of this question. This course 
has seemed the more advisable because the question of 
Japanese immigration has been talked about but indis- 
criminately. The purpose of this pamphlet, therefore, is 
to set forth as plainly as possible facts and statistics rela- 
tive to Japanese immigration. 

2. Scope of This Pamphlet. 

In order to make our statement as clear as possible, 
this pamphlet is divided into five parts, each part being 
subdivided into several items. They are as follows : 

1 



Part I. Extent of Japanese Immigration. 

1. Yearly totals of Japanese immigrants. 

2. Volume of Japanese immigration compared 
with that of European peoples. 

Part II. Destinations of Japanese Immigrants. 

Part III. Nature of Japanese Immigration. 

1. What classes Japanese immigrants come from. 

2. Financial condition of Japanese immigrants. 

3. Japanese immigrants classified by age. 

4. Educational condition of Japanese immigrants. 

Part IV. Economic Questions Attendant Upon Japanese 
Immigration. 

1. Effect of Japanese immigration upon the wages 
of American laborers. 

2. Effect of Japanese immigration upon the mer- 
cantile business of the Pacific Coast. 

3. Shortage of labor on the Pacific Coast. 

Part V. Are Japanese Immigrants Unassimilable? 



3. Source of Information. 

In preparing this pamphlet, the following documents 
formed the principal source of information. 

1. Annual report of the Commissioner General of 
Immigration. 

2. Monthly Summary of Commerce and Finance, 
Bureau of Statistics, Treasury Department. 

2 



3. Annual Report of the Department of Commerce 
and Labor. 

4. Biennial Report of the Bureau of Labor Statistics 
of California. 

5. Biennial Report of the Bureau of Labor Statis- 
tics of Oregon. 

6. Annual Report of the Commissioner of Labor, of 
Washington. 

7. Consular Report of the Foreign Department of 
Japan. 



Part L 



EXTENT OF JAPANESE IMMIGRATION. 



1. Yearly Totals of Japanese Immigrants. 
Japanese immigration into America may be said to 
have begun in 1866, when there were six immigrants from 
Japan. In the following table the yearly totals of Jap- 
anese immigrants since 1866 are compared with those of 
European immigrants: 



No. 
Japanese 
Immi- 
grants. 
7 
67 

63 

48 

78 

17 

9 

21 

3 

4 

7 

2 

4 

4 
11 

5 

27 

20 

49 

194 



No. 
European 
Immi- 
grants. 

1866 278,916 

1867 283,751 

1868 130,090 

1869 315,963 

1870 328,626 

1871 265,145 

1872 352,155 

1873 397,541 

1874 262,783 

1875 182,961 

1876 120,920 

1877 106,195 

1878 101,612 

1879 134,259 

1880 348,691 

1881 528,545 

1882 648,186 

1883 522,587 

1884 453,686 

1885 353,083 

1886 329,529 

The sudden increase of Japanese immigrants in 1900 
is due to the fact that in that year Japanese immigrants 
to Hawaii was for the first time included in the immigra- 
tion statistics of the United States, the annexation of the 

5 



No. 
European 
Immi- 
grants. 

1887 482,829 

1888 538,131 

1889 434,790 

1890 445,680 

1891 546,085 

1892 608,472 

1893 488,882 

1894 303,150 

1895 271,223 

1896 329,067 

1897 216,397 

1898 217,786 

1899 297,349 

1900 424,700 

1901 469,237 

1902 619,068 

1903 814,507 

1904 767,933 

1905 974,273 

1906 1,018,365 



No. 
Japanese 
Immi- 
grants. 
229 
404 
640 
691 
1,136 
1,498 
1,648 
1,739 
489 
1,110 
1,526 
2,230 
2,844 
12,635 
5,269 
14,270 
19,968 
14,264 
10,331 
13,835 



Sandwich Islands having taken place in 1898. Since 1900 
by far the largest portion of Japanese immigrants came to 
Hawaii. The following table will show the apportionment 
of Japanese immigrants between Hawaii and the main- 
land of the United States for the past five years : 

Year. Hawaii. Mainland. Total. 

1902 9,125 5,330 14,455 

1903 13,045 6,996 20,041 

1904 6,590 7,792 14,382 

1905 6,692 4,329 11,021 

1906 9,051 4,192 14,243 

It must be considered that a considerable number of 
Japanese immigrants yearly return to their native coun- 
try. This number should be deducted from the totals of 
Japanese immigrants shown in the above table. Unfor- 
tunately, no accurate figures for these departing Japanese 
are yet obtainable. The Bureau of Immigration however, 
classifies immigrants into newcomers and those who have 
been in this country before, the latter class of which might 
well be regarded as those going back home. According to 
this source of information, the yearly departures among 
Japanese immigrants during the past four years are as 
follows : 

Year. Departure. 

1903 1,365 

1904 1,890 

1905 1,515 

1906 1,531 

It must be conceded that these figures are considerably 
smaller than the actual number of yearly departures 
among the Japanese. This is evident from the reports 
of the Bureau of Labor Statistics of California. Accord- 
ing to these reports, the single port of San Francisco reg- 
istered, in the year ended September 30, 1904, the depar- 

6 



ture of 2,447 Japanese as against 1,426 arrivals from Ja- 
pan, making a decrease of 1,021 in the Japanese population 
of California. In the succeeding year the same port re- 
corded 2,022 departing Japanese as against 1,224 arriving 
Japanese, resulting in a decrease of 798 in the number of 
Japanese in California. It is to be regretted that we are 
unable to pursue our investigation along this line in re- 
gard to other states, owing to the fact that California is 
the only state which takes record of departures of alien 
immigrants. 



2. Volume of Japanese Immigration, Compared with 
that of European Peoples. 

We can comprehend the extent of Japanese immigra- 
tion more clearly by comparing it with that from those 
European countries which furnish this country with most 
immigrants. This comparison will be best shown in the 
following table: 





1891—1900. 


1901—1905 


1906. 




No. 
Immi- 
grants. 


Per 
Cent. 


No. 
Immi- 
grants. 


Per 
Cent. 


No. 
Immi- 
grants. 


Per 
Cent 


Japan 

Austria-Hungary 

Germany 

Italy 

Russia 

Ireland 

Sweden 

Norway 

Greece 


24,806 
592,707 
505,152 
651,893 
505,290 
388,416 
226,266 
95,014 
15,979 


.67 
16. 
14. 
18. 
14. 
10. 
6. 
2.6 
.43 


64,102 
944,239 
176,995 
959,768 
658,735 
184,095 
154,607 
103,065 

49,962 


1.7 
25. 

4.6 
25. 
17. 

4.8 

4. 

2.7 

1.3 


13,835 

265,138 

37,564 

273,120 

215,665 

34,995 

23,310 

21,730 

19,489 


1.3 
24. 

3.4 
25. 
20. 

3.2 

2. 

2. 

1.8 



From this table we learn that in the decade from 
1891 to 1900 Japanese immigration was so insignificant 
that it admits of no comparison with that from European 
countries. In the five years following, Japanese immi- 

7 



grants numbered, roughly speaking, only one to twenty- 
five compared with Austria-Hungarian immigrants; one 
to twenty-five compared with Italians; one to seventeen 
compared with Eussians. Again, in the year 1906 Japan- 
ese immigration amounted to one twenty-fourth of Aus- 
tria-Hungarian immigrants, one twenty-fifth of Italian 
immigrants, one eighteenth of Russian immigrants, and 
one third of Irish and German immigrants. 

The number of Japanese immigrants is not increas- 
ing, as has been reported in the newspai)ers. Their figures 
for 1901 were smaller than half their total for the preced- 
ing year; then there was an increase for two years, then 
a falling off for two years, then a slight increase last 
year. The increase of Japanese immigrants for 1906 over 
those for 1905 was 3,504, but this increase sinks into insig- 
nificance when compared with other principal increases. 
This comparison is shown in the following table : 

Country. Increase, 1905-1906. 

Japan 3,504 

Italy 51,641 

Russia 30,768 

Greece 8,974 

Turkey 4,068 



Part IL 



DESTINATIONS OF JAPANESE IMMIGRANTS. 



It is a recognized fact that the Japanese government 
is, as it always has been, endeavoring to restrict as much 
as possible the number of passports for those laborers 
intending to come to the mainland of the United States. 
Hence, more than one-half of Japanese immigrants have 
been destined to Hawaii, the United States proper having 
received a comparatively small number of immigrants 
from Japan. In order to show their distribution among 
Hawaii and the different states in the mainland, the fol- 
lowing table is prepared : 



YEAR. 



1902 
1903 
1904 
1905 
1906 









d 
o 
















'7^ 




bC 




:« 


F 


a 


S 


m 


03 


o 


o 


^ 


^ 


^ 




M 


03 


cu 


03 


03 

o 


u 

O 




o 


9,125 


2,518 


130 


2,419 


263 


13,045 


4,511 


329 


1,820 


336 


6,590 


4,003 


318 


2,446 


1,025 


6,692 


2,022 


279 


1,200 


828 


9,051 


2,068 


398 


1,619 


1,107 



14,455 
20,041 
14,382 
11,021 
14,243 



The significance of Japanese immigration to the 
Pacific Coast will be understood more clearly, when the 
proportion of the Japanese to the European immigrants 

9 



coming to that section is ascertained. We observe that 
the tendency on the Pacific Coast is, comparatively speak- 
ing, toward increasing the European population and de- 
creasing the Japanese. In 1903 the proportion of the 
Japanese to the European immigrants for the three states 
on the Pacific. Coast was 3 to 11.3; in 1904, 3 to 12.5; in 
1905, 3 to 20.3, and in 1906 3 to 19.1. The following table 
gives the exact figures showing this proportion : 





Washington. 


Oregon. 


California. 


u 

(V 


to 

a 

§ W) 

a> g 

H 


CO 

-l-i 

ill 
a 

<v a 
^ S 

CO 


o . 
-^ a> 

a g 

q;) Co 
O CO 

Is 


CO 

^a 


CO 

a 

cS 

§a 
?? a 
&^ 

1-5 


o 
-^ q3 

1^ s 

0) cS 
p, » 
O Cd 

1 g 


CO 

cS 
fl ^ 
§ W) 

aa 
sa 

w 


co' 

■l-> 

a 

C53 

ct 


o . 
-^ 6 

0) CO 

p. ft 
o « 

t< 1-5 
l§ 

dO 


1903 .... 

1904 .... 

1905 

1906 .... 


5,035 

5,780 
7,317 
8,849 


1,820 
2,446 
1,200 
1,619 


2.7 
2.3 
6. 
5.4 


1,595 
1,754 
1,620 
2,151 


329 
318 
279 
398 


4.8 
5.5 
5.8 
5.4 


17,348 
19,163 
17,293 

|17,286 


4,511 
4,003 
2,022 
2,068 


3.8 

4.7 
8.5 
8.3 



The destinations of Japanese immigrants given in 
the immigration statistics of the United States are merely 
those professed by individual immigrants upon their arri- 
val to these shores. Hence their actual destinations are 
frequently different from those recorded by the immigra- 
tion officials. As a matter of fact, the Japanese immi- 
grants are more widely scattered over different parts of 
this country than the report of the Commissioner-General 
of Immigration shows them to be. 

Unfortunately, statistical data in respect to the actual 
destinations of Japanese immigrants are not adequate. 

10 



Of the official documents of the United States, the census 
of 1900 is the only source of information on this point, but 
it is at this moment entirely out of date., Perhaps the 
latest and best available statistics in this respect are found 
in the annual census of the Japanese consuls in America 
for the year 1906. The Foreign Department of Japan 
divides the United States into four consular districts : 

1. The Seattle district, comprising Alaska, Washing- 
ton, Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming and Montana. 

2. The San Francisco district, comprising California, 
Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona and Utah. 

3. The Chicago district, comprising Illinois, Indiana, 
Iowa, Kansas, Wisconsin, Michigan, Nebraska, the Da- 
kotas, Missouri, Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, 
Tennessee, Ohio, Kentucky, Mississippi and Alabama. 

4. The New York district, comprising the rest of the 
United States. 

Now, according to the said consular census, there 
were, at the end of 1905, 49,598 Japanese in the United 
States proper. Distributing this among the four consular 
districts, we obtain the figures in the following table : 

Consular District. No. of Japanese. 

New York District 2,456 

Chicago District 1,860 

San Francisco District 31,092 

Seattle District 14,190 

This shows that the Japanese population in this coun- 
try is widely scattered, not only along the entire Pacific 
Coast, but in other parts of the States. The most power- 
ful argument against Chinese immigration previous to the 
enactment of the Chinese exclusion law in 1882 was that 

11 



they, flocking to the single state of California, were likely 
to jeopardize the growth and occupancy of that state by 
Americans. The Chinese immigrants from 1854 to 1882, 
inclusive, totaled 139,455, the overwhelming majority of 
which came to and remained in California. In view of 
the fact that in the seventies of the past century, when 
agitation for Chinese exclusion was begun, the state of 
California had a population of only 560,000, including 
Negroes, Indians and Chinese, the apprehension that the 
Chinese might hinder the wholesome development of the 
white community in that state was not without ground. 
But the conditions on the Pacific Coast have since radi- 
cally changed, while other circumstances attendant upon 
Japanese immigration are widely different from those ac- 
companying Chinese immigration. In 1900 the white 
population of California {excluding Negroes, Indians, Chi- 
nese and Japenese) increased to 1,402,727. In 1870 the 
population of Oregon was only 90,923, and that of Wash- 
ington only 23,955, both including Negroes, Indians and 
Chinese; but the census of 1900 estimates the population 
of Oregon at 394,582, and that of Washington at 496,304, 
both excluding Negroes, Indians, Chinese and Japanese. 
It is needless to say that during the seven years following 
the taking of the last census the white population on the 
Pacific Coast has increased even more rapidly than in the 
years preceding., And the increase in the white popula- 
tion is merely one of many factors which solidify the 
American community on the Pacific Coast. It may, there- 
fore, well be asked whether the argument advanced against 
Chinese immigration can reasonably be applied to the 
Japanese immigration of today. 

12 



Part IIL 

NATURE OF JAPANESE IMMIGRATION. 

1. What Classes Japanese Immigrants Come From. 

A study of the reports of the Conunissioner-General 
of Immigration will reveal the fact that the Japanese im- 
migrants are not necessarily recruited from among the 
lowest classes of laborers. To call them ' '■ coolies ' ' with- 
out discrimination is not to render them justice. During 
the eight years from 1899 to 1906, inclusive, the classifi- 
cation of Japanese immigrants by occupation is as shown 
in the following table : 



YEAR. 


cS 

a 
.2 

02 
01 

O 

u 
CU 




03 

CD 

a 

u 
fa 


03 

;-. 
0) 
u 
o 

fa 


o 


03 

a 

c3 

o 


a 

> 

u 


03* 

* 


O d 

am 


1899 


92 
563 
167 
222 
274 
373 
280 
256 


121 
1,793 
603 
1,047 
922 
641 
358 
329 


828 

2,521 

897 


854 
3,855 
1 153 


203 
1,977 

830 
1,558 

572 
1,474 

743 

835 


601 

797 

652 

1,205 

1,442 

1.184 

777 

632 


53 
223 
181 
173 
132 
317 
207 
195 


84 
192 
181 
199 
591 
253 
181 
593 


559 


1900 


707 


1901 


585 


1902 


5,212| 451 

5,010|5,816 

12116,775 

380 5,883 

522 8.435 


4 388 


1903 


5 5^8?^ 


1904 


3 344 


1905 


3 319 


1906 


3,446 











*This consists of agents, bankers, hotel keepers, manufacturers and 
fishermen. 

§This includes women and children under 14 years. 

13 



The meaning of the above table will be understood 
more fully when the figures for each occupation are re- 
duced to percentage of total Japanese immigrants and 
compared with the figures representing each occupation of 
European iimnigrants, likewise rendered into percentage. 
For this purpose the following table is prepared compar- 
ing the Japanese immigrants for 1906 with those from 
several European countries: 



People or Race. 





03 


TJ 


01 




s 


iii 


c3 


m 


fo 


2.16 


3.66 


12.63 


.37 


11.15 


3.25 


11.56 


2.44 


33.26 


.1 


18.86 


2.17 


6.19 


.79 


3.79 


1.41 


19.11 


2.42 






CQ 



Japanese 

Italian (South . 
Italian (North) 

Irish 

Hebrew 

German 

Polish 

Slovak 

Scandinavian . . 



1 


79 




32 


1 


13 


1 


47 




71 


2 


7 




19 




.07 


1 


.45 



59.22| 5.86 

30.58|29.41 

11.08|37.94 

5.36|24.8 

1.11 5.44 

14.171 7.58 

33.64|23.35 

46.17|12.31 

6.45125.82 



4.43 
.89 

1.24 
.79 

2.27 

3.34 
.09 
.04 
.52 



1.36 
4.50 
6.82 
36.6 

6.39 
13.58 
16.3 
14.4 
24.02 



From the foregoing two tables it will be seen that the 
majority of Japanese immigrants are farmers and farm 
laborers who, in this countiy, are generally regarded as 
more desirable than common laborers. Common labor- 
ers, who are apt to crowd in the city, form a very small 
portion of Japanese immigrants, viz., only 5.86 per cent, 
as against 29 per cent from South Italy, 37 per cent from 
North Italy, 24 per cent from Ireland, 23 per cent from 
Poland and 25 per cent from Scandinavia. With the ex- 
ception of Germany, Japan furnished the largest percent- 
age of professional men. In examining these statistics it 
is necessary to remember that the figures given in them 
include those from Hawaii, which form by far the great- 

14 



est portion of Japanese immigration. The overwhelming 
majority of Japanese laborers given in the above table 
came to the Hawaiian group, and not to the mainland of 
this country. 



2. Financial Condition of Japanese Immigrants. 
It is worthy of note that the per capita of money 
shown by Japanese immigrants is smaller only than that 
produced by English and German immigrants. In the 
fiscal year 1905, the average amount of money brought by 
English and German immigrants was $57.65 and $43.72 
per capita, respectively, while Japanese immigrants 
brought $37.78 each. In 1906 English immigrants brought 
$57.90 per capita, Germans $40.87, and Japanese $31.09. 

In the following table we present a comparison of the 
per capita of money shown by Japanese immigrants with 
that produced by immigrants from various European 
countries in the two fiscal years 1905 and 1906 : 



Race or People. 



1905. 



a o 

O CC 



<l O) 



1906. 






11,021 

186,390 

39,930 

54,266 

129,910 



Japanese 

Italian (South) 

Italian (North) 

Irish 

Hebrew 

Polish 1102,437 

Scandinavian 

Slovak 

Magyar 

Croatian-Slovenian . . . 
Russian 



416,395 

3,127,207 

1,169,980 

1,421,682 

1,824,617 

1,352,230 

62,284|1,604,205 

52,368| 818,207 

46,030| 695,108 

35,104| 539,337 

3,7461 133,576 



37.78 
16.77 
26.79 
26.19 
14.04 
13.20 
25.75 
15.43 
15.10 
15.36 
35.65 



14,243 

240,528 

46,286 

40,959 

153,748 

95,835 

58,141 

38,221 

44,261 

44,272 

5,814 



442 

3,637 

1,237 

1,082 

2,362 

1,103 

1,542 

526 

621 

582 

159 



31.09 
10.96 
26.73 
26.42 
15.36 
11.51 
26.52 
028J13.76 
077|14.03 
503|13.15 
,251125.67 



,909 

,787 
,404 
,332 
,125 
,955 
,129 



15 



Attention must also be called to the fact that a very- 
small number of Japanese immigrants have been denied 
admission on the ground of being paupers or likely to 
become public charges. The following table shows the 
number of Japanese so rejected in 1906 as corapared with 
that of European immigrants debarred for the same 
reason : 



Race or People. Debarred. 

Japanese 84 

Italian (South) 2,107 

Italian (North) 127 

Irish 149 

Hebrew 1,131 

Greek 365 

German 359 

English 404 



Race or People. Debarred. 

Croatian and Slovenian .... 202 

Magyar 129 

Polish 385 

Ruthenian 118 

Scandinavian 142 

Scotch 142 

Slovak 153 



As this table shows, only 84 Japanese were rejected 
on the ground above mentioned. This is markedly small 
as compared with 2,107 South Italians and 1,131 Hebrews 
debarred on that account. 

Naturally, only an infinitesimal portion of Japanese 
immigrants have been afforded aid in hospitals of this 
country, while European countries have yearly furnished 
this country with hundreds, even thousands of immigrants 
relieved in hospitals. In the following table the number 
of Japanese afforded aid in hospitals in 1905 and 1906 is 
compared with that of European immigrants so relieved : 

16 



Race or People. 





1905. 




■ 






o. Imm 

grants 


0^ a 
> m 
0) O 


01 


^ 


Pi 


CL, 


11,021 


2 


.01 


186,915 


1,290 


.69 


3,569 


158 


4.42 


54,266 


243 


.44 


129,910 


1,534 


1.18 


12,144 


70 


.57 


82,360 


747 


.9 


102,437 


991 


.96 


62,284 


253 


.4 



a a 

d s^ 

2 



1906. 



> VI 

a; o 



o 



Japanese 

Italian (South) 
Italian (North) 

Irish 

Hebrew 

Greek 

German 

Polish 

Scandinavian . 



14,243 
240,528 
46,286 
40,959 
153,748 
23,127 
86,813 
96,835 
58,141 



1 

1,776 

346 

214 

2,495 

189 

867 

1,000 

179 



.007 
.73 
.74 
.52 

1.62 
.81 
.99 

1.04 
.3 



We see that out of the entire Japanese immigrants for 
1905 and 1906, only 3 became public charges. This rate 
is almost naught by the side of the enormous number of 
European immigrants who became public charges in the 

same two years. 

******** 

3. Japanese Immigrants Classified hy Age. 

The fact that so few Japanese have become public 
charges in this country is due perhaps to the presence 
among them of a very small number of the aged and in- 
fant, as well as to their happy financial condition. Al- 
most 98 per cent of Japanese immigrants are in the prime 
age of 14 to 44, leaving only 2 per cent for the aged and 
infant. 

In the following table we classify the Japanese im- 
migrants for the past five years, giving percentage for 
each class: 

17 



Year. 



0:2 
o 

Dh 










01 




> 


r Cent 
Total. 



a 







Ph 


•^ 


94.67| 


140 


96.53] 


182 


96.17 


360 


96.07 


309 


97.03 


276 






1902 14,455 630 

1903 20,041 I 515 

1904 14,382j] 190 

1905 ]11,021]] 124 

1906 14,24311 146 



4.36 113,685 
2.56||19,344 
1.32][13,832 
1.12 ]10,588 
1.02 13,821 



.97 

.9 
2.5 
2.8 
1.23 



In the five years under consideration Japanese immi- 
gTants under 14 years amounted to 2.07 per cent on the 
average, and those of 40 years and over 1.68 per cent. 
As against such a small number of aged and infant im- 
migrants from Japan, European countries have furnished 
a considerable number of this class of immigrants, rang- 
ing from 33 to 10 per cent. A comparison of Japanese 
and European immigrants in this respect is shown in 
the following statement compiled from the Annual Re- 
port of the Commissioner-General of Immigration for 
1906: 



Race or People. 


a i2 
as 

6 W) 




Ph 




t(-( 


CD 

s 


Total. 
45 and Over. 



■t-j 

0> (rf 

^^ 

Ph 


Japanese 


14,243| 
240,528] 
46,286 
40,959| 
153,7481 
86,813i 
95,835] 
58,141 
38,2211 
44,2611 
44,272 


146 

26,546 

3,993 

1,868 

43,620 

13,076 

8,941 


1- 
11. 

8. 

4. 
28. 
15. 

9. 


13,821 
202,888 

40,684 

37,232 
101,875 

68,282 
] 84,860 


97 

84 
87 
90 
66 

78 
88 


276 
11,094 
1.609 
1,859 
8,253 
5,455 
2,034 
2,637 
1.010 
1 1,541 

945 


1. 


Italian (South) 

Italian (North) 

Irish 


4. 
3. 
4. 


Hebrew 


5. 


German 

Polish 


6. 

2. 


Scandinavian 

Slovak 

Magyar 

Croatian and Slovenian 


] 5,290 
3,415 

] 3,974 
1,674 


9. 

8. 
8. 
3. 


] 50,214 
33,796 
38,746 
41,653 


86 
88 
87 
94 


4. 
2. 
3. 
2. 



18 



The foregoing statements are inducive to the con- 
clusion that the Japanese immigrants are generally of 
sound physique, capable of engaging themselves in hard 

work necessary to earn their bread. 

******** 

4. Educational Condition of Japanese Imfmig rants. 
Owing to the fact that the Japanese language is radi- 
cally different from the English and its kindred lan- 
guages, it requires a considerable time, and labor, for a 
Japanese to acquire even an elementary knowledge of 
English. A compulsory educational system is practiced 
in Japan as far as primary education is concerned, but 
in the primary school no foreign language is taught. It 
is only in the high school that the English language finds 
its place in the studies, while French and German as well 
as English are taught in the "higher high school." It 
is, therefore, natural that many Japanese have no knowl- 
edge of English when they first arrive in this country. 
And yet the rate of illiteracy among Japanese immi- 
grants, while much larger than that among English, 
Irish, German and Scandinavian immigrants, is consid- 
erably smaller than the rate of illiteracy among the South 
Italians, Ruthenians, Lithuanians, Polish, Croatians and 
Slovenians, etc. The Commissioner-General of Immigra- 
tion's report for 1904 contains a very instructive chart, 
showing the rate of illiteracy among immigrants from 
the different countries. From this chart the following 
table is prepared, comparing the percentage of illiteracy 
among the Japanese with those among immigrants from 
European cuntries, which furnish this country with 
more than 20 per cent of illiterates: 

19 



Per Cent. 
Race or People. of Illiterates. 

Japanese 22 

Italian (South) 54 

Greek 24 

Portuguese 68 

^ _, . ( Polish 36 

German Empire., j Hebrew 23 

/^Hebrew 23 

\ Polish 36 

Isiovak 28 

Austria-Hungary. . /guthenian 59 

\ Roumanian 32 

i Bulgarian, Servian, Montenegrian 45 

/Dalmatian, Bosnian, He rzegovinian 36 

1 Croatian and Slovenian 36 

I'Hebrew 23 

«-'-E»p'---SL"an ::■::::;;:;::::::::::::;::;;;: 54 

(Polish 36 

According to this table 22 out of every hundred 
Japanese were illiterate, which formed the smallest rate 
of illiteracy in the list. The largest rate of illiteracy was 
among the Portugnese, viz., 69 per cent; the Ruthenians 
came next, the South Italians and Lithuanians third, the 
Bulgarians, Servians and Montenegians fourth, the Polish 
fifth, and so on. 



20 



Part IV. 

ECONOMIC QUESTIONS ATTENDANT UPON 
JAPANESE IMMIGRATION. 

1. Effect of Japanese Immigration Upon the Wages of 
American Laborers. 

In view of the fact that the Japanese immigrant is 
charged with lowering the wages of American laborers, 
we have made a special inquiry into this phase of the 
question. As the result of the investigation we are able 
to state that there is no fact that substantiates such a 
charge. The Japanese immigrants are usually engaged 
in the kinds of work which the American laborers do not 
care to take. They do not, as a rule, underbid American 
labor. 

The reports of the Bureaus of Labor of the United 
States and of the Pacific Coast states conclusively show 
that the wages of labor on the Pacific Coast have been 
increasing steadily. Within the past ten years the wages 
of certain classes of laborers have nearly doubled, while 
the wages of many laborers have increased 50 per cent in 
the same period. 

The following table shows how the wages of Ameri- 
can laborers in the state of Washington have increased 

21 



in four different occnpations in which most Japanese 
laborers are engaged: 

Occupation. Year 1897.* Year 1907.§ 

Saw mill laborer (per day) $1.25 — $2.00 $2.60— $3.50 

Shingle mill laborer (per day) 1.50 — 2.00 2.00 — 3.25 

Farm laborer (per day) 1.50 — 2.00 2.00 — 3.00 

Farm laborer (per month) 45.00 — 55.00 60.00—75.00 

Railroad laborers (per day) 1.33 1.60 — 3.00 

*Report of the Bureau of Labor, State of Washington. 
§Based upon the wages paid at present. 

In certain kinds of work the Japanese get less wages 
than are paid American laborers, but this does not mean 
that they sell their labor at a cheap price. On the con- 
trary, they are getting the highest wages they can rea- 
sonably ask. In some work they cannot reasonably ask 
the same wages as are paid white workmen, beacuse in 
physical strength they are not equal to their white fellow- 
workingmen. Besides, they are handicapped in many 
other ways, being unable to speak English or being un- 
familiar with the tools they have to handle. And yet, 
in any kind of work, the Japanese are not getting much 
smaller wages than are the American laborers. 

After a careful investigation, we prepared the fol- 
lowing statements, showing the wages of Japanese la- 
borers in the four states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho 
and Montana: 

1. Washington. In the state of Washington there 

are at present some 12,894 Japanese, of whom 697 and 
288 are independent business men and farmers, respect- 
ively. Of the remaining Japanese population we obtain 
the following figures: 

22 



Saw mill laborers and wood cutters 2,685 

Railroad laborers 2,332 

Farm laborers 1,234 

Fishery and cannery laborers 904 

Housework 1,204 

Hotel, store and restaurant laborers 3,014 

Miscellaneous laborers 536 

The wages of these Japanese laborers are roughly as 
follows : 

Saw mill and wood cutting $ 1.75 — $ 2.75 (day) 

Railroad 1.50— 2.50 (day) 

Farm labor 1.50 — 1.90 (day)* 

Fishery and cannery 1.30 — 1.65 ( day) * 

Housework 15.00— 50.00 (month)* 

Hotel, store and restaurant labor 30.00 — 70.00 (month) 

Hotel and restaurant cook 40.00 — 70.00 (month)* 

*With room and board. 



2. Oregon. Oregon has some 3,790 Japanese popu- 
lation, of which about 155 and 39 are independent busi- 
ness men and farmers, respectively. The Japanese la- 
borers in this state are roughly classified as follows: 

Saw mill laborers and wood cutters 260 

Railroad laborers 1,830 

Farm laborers 220 

Fishery and cannery laborers 320 

Domestics, hotel, store and restaurant laborers. . 815 

Miners 120 

These laborers receive wages at the following rate : 

Saw mill and wood cutting $ 1.75 — $ 2.50 (day) 

Railroad 1.50— 2.50 (day) 

Farm labor 35.00— 45.00 (month)* 

Fishery and cannery 120.00 — 180.00 (season)* 

Housework 15.00— 45.00 (month)* 

Hotel and store labor 38.00— 80.00 (month) 

Mining 1.75— 2.75 (day) 



*With room and board. 



3. Idaho. The Japanese population of Idaho is 
about 1,085, of which some 38 are engaged in independent 

23 



business and farming. Of the laboring class there are: 

Railroad laborers 730 

Farm laborers 800 

Domestics 173 

Wages received by the Japanese laborers in this state 
are as follows: 

Housework $15.00— $45.00 (month) * 

Railroad 1.50— 2.50 (day) 

Farm labor 35.00— 45.00 (month) * 

*With room and board. 



4. Montana. The Japanese population of Montana 
consists of some 1,920, comprising 13 independent busi- 
ness men and farmers, 1,630 railroad laborers, 139 farm 
laborers, 63 domestics, and hotel, store and restaurant 
laborers. The wages paid Japanese laborers in this state 
are as follows : 

Housework, hotel and store labor $45.00 — $75.00 (month) 

Railroad labor 1.60— 2.50 (day) 

Farm labor 45.00— 55.00 (month) 

That these wages of Japanese laborers are, with a 
few exceptions, not smaller than the wages of American 
laborers will be more fully understood, when the above 
statements are compared with the following table pre- 
pared from the report of the Bureau of Labor of Wash- 
ington, showing the average wages of various kinds of 
labor in which most Japanese laborers are engaged : 

Occupation. Average Wages. 

Section foreman (Great Northern Railroad $ 1.80 — $ 2.00 (day) 

Section hand (Great Northern Railroad) 1.35 — 1.50 (day) 

Section foremen (Northern Pacific) 2.07 (day) 

Section hand (Northern Pacific) 1.47 (day) 

Section foremen (Oregon Railway) 1.91 (day) 

Section hands (Oregon Railway) 1.75 (day) 

Section foremen (Columbia & Puget Sound Ry.) 2.16 — 2.33 (day) 

Section hand (Columbia & Puget Sound Ry.) . . . 1.30 — 1.75 (day) 

24 



Section foreman (Washington & Columbia R. R.) 1.93 (day) 

Section hand (Washington & Columbia R. R.) . . . 1.50 (day) 

Common labor at mercantile establishment (Se- 
attle) 1.50— 2.00 (day) 

Common labor at mercantile establishment (Ta- 

coma) 1.50 (day) 

Common labor at mercantile establishment (Spo- 
kane) 3.40 (day) 

Restaurant cooks 45.00 — 90.00 (month) 

Restaurant waiters 30.00 — 60.00 (month) 

In this connection, attention must be called to the 
fact that the phrase *' American workingman," as is com- 
monly used nowadays, covers a multitude of aliens — 
Italians, Russians, Hebrews, Magyars, Slovaks, Scandi- 
navians and many others, 

2. Effect of Japanese Immigration Upon the Mercantile 
Business on the Pacific Coast. 

When the state of California began to agitate for the 
exclusion of the Chinese, even the merchants and dealers 
of that state countenanced the movement, for the reason 
that the Chinese immigrant did not consume American 
goods, importing almost all of his living requirements 
from his native country. On the other hand, merchants 
and dealers of the Pacific Coast do not favor the agita- 
tion against the Japanese, whose daily requirements, with 
the exception of a few things, are bought in this coun- 
try. Indeed, it may be safe to say that the mercantile 
class on the Pacific Coast is willing to welcome Japan- 
ese immigrants. 

On this point, the following passage from the ^'Sec- 
ond Biennial Report of the Bureau of Labor Statistics of 
the State of Oregon" may be read with interest: 

''It is shown that of the food and materials consumed 
by the Chinaman, 60 per cent is foreign and 40 per cent 

25 



domestic. On the other hand, the Japanese imports only 
11 I3er cent of his living requirements from his native 
land, the balance, or 89 per cent, being domestic. The 
Japanese purchases all of his clothing in the United 
States, amounting to 15 per cent of his articles of sub- 
sistence, while of his food, which represents 85 per cent 
of his living expenses, 87 per cent is domestic and 13 per 
cent foreigTi. Eighty-one per cent of the Chinaman's 
subsistence is food, of which proportion 75 per cent is 
foreign and 25 per cent domestic, and the balance, or 19 
per cent, is clothing, all domestic. 

This statement, while not accurate in details, is suffi- 
cient to show how different the mode of living of the 
Japanese is from that of the Chinese in this country. The 
Japanese wears American clothes, uses American furni- 
ture, subsists on American food, all purchased in this 
country. 

3. Shortage of Labor on the Pacific Coast. 

It is universally recognized that the development of 
the Pacific Coast and its adjacent territories is being 
greatly hindered by insufficient supply of labor. In the 
summer of 1905 the Portland Chamber of Commerce ad- 
dressed to President Roosevelt a memorial, stating that 
the conditions on the Pacific Coast have so radically 
changed since the enactment of the Chinese exclusion law 
that it "is now no more in favor of exclusion than the 
Middle West, the East and the South." This significant 
document was made public on July 12, 1905. In part it 
says as follows: 

"Vast areas of territory on the Pacific Coast are un- 
developed at the present time, and will remain so under 
present labor conditions ; whereas, with the influx of only 
a tithe of the immigartion that is now coming in on the 

26 



Atlantic Coast, lands would be cleared and improved, pub- 
lic highways would be built in regions where there is an 
entire absence of good roads, and railroad construction 
would take on a new activity. It can not be fairly claimed 
that the Chinese would interfere with the American la- 
borer in this work, because the work is not now per- 
formed b}'' American or anj^ other labor, save in the most 
limited way. It remains practically undone, and the 
doing of it would not only fail to affect injuriously the 
present satisfactory status of the American laborer, but 
would open wider and higher fields for his activity and 
improvement, prepared largely by those who, under any 
circumstances, will always hold second place to him." 

That the above statement can be applied to the 
present condition on the Pacific Coast even with greater 
weight than two years ago, is beyond question. Almost 
every day the newspapers on the Pacific Coast report 
the shortage of labor in that country. According to ' ' The 
Seattle Times," "the mining camps of the North are 
keenly feeling the shortage of labor, despite the fact that 
$4.50 a day and board is offered by the employer. ' ' "The 
Times" goes on to relate: "So acute is the situation that 
mining corporations operating in the Southeastern 
Alaska and the Atlin District are importing Japanese 
labor. Within a few days, J. M. Ruffner, general man- 
ager and treasurer of the North Columbia Gold Mining 
Company, one of the big concerns operating in the Atlin 
District, in British Columbia, will take in thirty-five Jap- 
anese laborers under contract for the season of 1907. 
These Japanese will draw from $4.00 to $4.50 a day as 
pipemen, shovel wielders and common laborers, and will 
be boarded free. As far as known, this is the highest 
price paid for common labor on the North Pacific Coast 

27 



Counting the board the men will earn between $35.00 and 
$40.00 per week. Mr. Ruffner said : * Last year we were 
short of men, having about 40 per cent of efificiency in 
a working crew. Of this 40 p(ir cent not all of the men 
were steady. We are simply up against it for labor in 
the mines of the Atlin District, and the work is easy and 
the wages high. In order to protect ourselves we were 
forced to hire Japanese.' " 

Nor is it only in any one particular kind of work 
that the shortage in labor is so keenly felt; it is felt on 
all lines of work. To quote from ' ' The Times ' ' : 

''Eailroad contractors and emplyoment agencies of 
lines building into the Pacific Northwest have bid against 
each other at such a rate for workingmen that common 
labor is now quoted here at $3.00 per day, with promises 
of steady employment. The Northwest never before saw 
such a condition as prevails among the railroad camps in 
Washington as well as Alaska. H. C. Henry, contractor 
for the St. Paul Railroad from Idaho to the Coast, has 
perhaps 5,000 unskilled men at work in the grading camps, 
who are earning a minimum of $2.50 per day and a maxi- 
mum of $3.00 a day. Ax men and woodchoppers get as 
high as $3.50 a day, and the board is supplied by con- 
tractors who vie with each other in serving the best 
meals." 

It is no exaggeration to say that the views of the 
Portland Chamber of Commerce above quoted are shared 
by all the Chambers of Commerce in the Pacific North- 
west. Such facts as these will no doubt be carefully con- 
sidered by those who are directly concerned with the so- 
lution of the question of Japanese immigration. When 
Hon. Oscar S. Straus, Secretary of Commerce and Labor, 
was in Seattle on the occasion of his tour of the Pacific 

28 



Coast and Hawaii last summer, he made the following 
significant remark to a representative of ''The Post- 
Intelligencer": 

"In the last three months the number of immigrants 
coming into the United States through all parts has in- 
creased ten per cent over the number coming in the cor- 
responding period during 1906. During the same period 
the immigration from Japan decreased. The kind of 
Japanese that are now coming to this country are the 
most desirable class. * * * j^ means that the tide 
of immigration is turning toward Canada. They have 
a wonderful country up there, and the immigrants are 
beginning to find it out. I believe that Canada is the 
coming country. That is going to be one of the big prob- 
lems you men on the Pacific Coast will have to face and 
will have to solve. The laborers will leave your country 
and flock to Canada." 



29 



Part V. 

ARE JAPANESE IMMIGRANTS UN ASSIMILABLE? 

This is certainly a very embarrassing question, which 
we do not feel at liberty to discuss. Argument for and 
against the Japanese on this point is naturally apt to end 
in mere generalizations, because there can exist no statis- 
tical data or tangible facts upon which to base such argu- 
ment, so long as the Japanese is not admitted into Ameri- 
can citizenship with the full opportunity of proving 
themselves to be faithful members of the Republic. Yet 
there are many instances which go to show that the Jap- 
anese, denied the rights of citizenship as they are, make 
desirable citizens, eager to imbibe American ideals and 
usages, and willing to join hands with their American 
neighbors in whatsoever that is aimed to promote the 
welfare of this commonwealth. But were we to set forth 
such instances and endeavor to defend our cause, we 
should necessarily be accused of immodesty. We must, 
therefore, confine ourselves to giving the statements of a 
few representative Americans, who are in a position to 
speak with authority on this question. 

When Senator Perkins, of California, expressed the 
belief that ''the inherent Japanese traits of patriotic im- 
pulses will make them a foreign element in any country 

31 



to which they may migrate," ''The Pacific" (Honolulu), 
commenting upon the Senator 's opinion, said as follows : 

"The treatment of the Japanese by our nation has 
not been such as to encourage expatriation on their part. 
The few that have sought naturalization have been re- 
fused. Senator Perkins ought to be willing to give them 
an opportunity to expatriate themselves and to show, as 
other nationalities have had opportunity to show, that 
they can be as loyal to their adopted as to their native 
country. Certainly, so long as that has not .been done, 
there is no justification for any dogmatic assertion that 
expatriation is a thing impossible to a Japanese. There 
was a time when it was claimed that the Germans, who 
came here in great numbers after the revolution of 1848, 
would subvert the principles of American government. 
And in the earlier years of our national history there 
were ever those who were fearful that many of those 
whom we received to citizenship would in a crisis prefer 
their native to their adopted country. Time has shown 
all these things to have been bugbears." 

Dr. Doremus Scudder, who has had many years of 
experience in Hawaii, writing to ''The Pacific," says as 
follows : 

"President Eoosevelt is right. He has proved him- 
self a seer in suggesting naturalization for Japanese. The 
next step will be to grant this to all men upon precisely 
equal terms. This does not mean that we should not safe- 
guard our citizenship. Japan will have done us an in- 
calculable benefit, if, as an outcome of this controversy, 
our Government be led to require that no alien shall be 
naturalized before passing an English examination in 
American civics under the auspices of a board consti- 
tuted somewhat after the manner of our Board of Civil 
Service Commissioners. ' ' 

In refutation of the hackneyed assertion that Hawaii 
is today a Japanese colony. Dr. Scudder says : 

32 



''No possible statement could be further from the 
truth. Numerically, the people of this race predominate, 
but the one noticeable feature of the life of these islands 
is the victory of American ideals over those of Asia here. 
Instead of Hawaii being Japanese in civilization, it is 
more truly American than San Francisco has been since 
the era of pure government immediately succeeding the 
rise of the vigilantes and preceding the days of fierce 
anti-Chinese agitation. The test of a civilization is not 
found in the clothes worn or in skin color, but in the spirit 
which moves forward toward the realization of higher 
ideals." 

Governor Carter, of Hawaii, evidently shares the 
views of "The Pacific" and Dr. Scudder when he says: 

"Fifty per cent of the population of the Hawaiian 
group is Japanese, and we have never had the slightest 
trouble with them. They are treated by the residents the 
same as other people, and that is practically all there is 
to it. They make good citizens, are unobstrusive, and 
never bother anybody who does not bother them." 

In an editorial entitled "Facts About Japanese Im- 
migration" appearing in a recent issue of "The New 
York Post, ' ' we find the following passage : 

"The argument which has been made against Chi- 
nese immigration has little bearing when applied to the 
Japanese. When the latter arrive in this country, they 
speedily adopt American methods of dress and living. As 
a rule, the Japanese do not colonize in a city even to the 
extent that the Italians, Russians, Germans and Irish do ; 
but instead, endeavor to establish independent homes of 
their own for the purpose of bringing themselves quickly 
into touch with the native population. For this reason 
the Japanese immigrant, after a year in this countr^^, in 
his acquaintance with the English language and in his 
knowledge of American usages is ordinarily much more 
nearly in harmony with our social system than the aver- 

33 



age immigrant from Hungary or Russia, after a similar 
experience of American living." 

In his address before tlie Men's Club of Trinity 
Parish Church of Seattle, on the evening of October 20th, 
Mayor Moore, of that city, incidentally paid tribute to 
the Japanese residents of the municipality. Among other 
things he said : 

"We have had as little trouble, if not less, in this 
administration with the Japanese as with our own people. 
They have not only obeyed the laws of the community, but 
have given assistance in enforcing the laws.* * * In 
fact we have in our community no more intelligent citi- 
zenship than the Japanese. I must admit that in my ad- 
ministration we have had more difficulty with the white 
element than with the foreign." 

It will be alike impossible and unnecessary to cite all 
such statements ; suffice it to say that these are only a few 
of a great number of similar examples. 



34 



APPENDIX 



I. 

Resolution of Seattle Chamber of Commerce, Adopted 
March 20, 1907. 

According to tlie report of the Associated Press dis- 
patches from Washington, the settlement of the question 
involving the right of Japanese children to attend the 
public school of San Franicsco is to draw after it the 
negotiation of a new immigration treaty with Japan. 

It is the opinion of the Seattle Chamber of Commerce 
that a majority of the people of the Pacific Coast are not 
in favor of any immigration law that will treat the people 
of Japan differently from the way in which we treat the 
people of any European country. We recognize that the 
United States and the Empire of Japan are bound to- 
gether by the ties of trade, commerce and old friendship, 
which in the past have proved of great advantage to both 
countries, and if preserved, contain a sure pledge of still 
greater benefits for the future. We believe that any im- 
migration treaty which would discriminate against Japan 
by denying to the people of the country ordinary rights 
or privileges granted to the people of other civilized na- 
tions, would be uncalled for and would be detrimental to 
the trade and commerce of the Pacific Coast, and, by 
checking the growth, development and prosperity of this 
section, would tend directly to narrow the field of employ- 
ment for our own people and decrease the demand for our 
own labor., It would injure the Pacific Coast farmers by 
barring the way to a large and profitable market for flour 
and other food stuffs. It would strike directly at those 
manufacturing industries throughout the country which 
are now suppljdng steel rails, machinery, food and other 
appliances for the development of Japan, Corea and Man- 

37 



churia. It would practically close Japan, Corea and Man- 
churia to American capital and to the use of American 
skilled labor that would otherwise be largely employed in 
the development of the resources of those countries. 

Moreover, as the enforcement of the terms of any new 
immigration treaty putting Japan on a different footing 
from that of other nations or any law or regulation made 
pursuant to such a treaty, would necessarily be in the 
hands of bureau officials, its administration would, in our 
opinion, be almost certain to sow the seeds of disagree- 
ments, dissension and strife between the two countries. 

Therefore, be it resolved that in the opinion of this 
Chamber it would be against the best interests of the 
Pacific Coast and of the whole country to conclude any 
treaty or enact any law, the effect of which would be to 
treat the people of Japan in a manner different from the 
treatment accorded to the people of other civilized powers. 

Eesolved, That a copy of these resolutions be trans- 
mitted to the President and the Secretary of State. 

n. 

Resolution of Tacoma CJiamber of Commerce and Board 
of Trade, Adopted April 29, 1907. 

The commercial interests of the Pacific Coast demand 
a close friendship with the commercial interests of Japan 
and the trans-Pacific countries. Anything, which tends 
to separate these interests or engender the spirit of an- 
tagonism toward a closer union of our commercial rela- 
tion with these countries, should be viewed with disfavor 
and subjected to searching criticism by the commercial 
bodies of the Western Coast. 

This is particularly true of Tacoma, whose friendly 
attitude to Japan and Japanese interests is evidenced by 
her constantly increasing trade with the ports of that 
country. 

The recent agitation against the attendance of Jap- 
anese children to the public schools of San Francisco 
seems to threaten a new immigration treaty with Japan, 

38 



which shall contain some stringent measures tending to 
place Japanese immigration on a different basis from that 
of other foreign countries. 

There seems no good reason why such a treaty should 
be contemplated. The United States has never suffered 
from Japanese immigration, and the opportunities for the 
development of a large and mutually profitable trade be- 
tween our country and Japan demand that no unreason- 
able prejudice be permitted to establish an unfriendly 
attitude on Japan's part toward the United States or her 
commercial prestige in Japanese waters. 

Therefore the Board of Trustees of the Tacoma 
Chamber of Commerce and Board of Trade hereby re- 
solves : 

That there is no occasion for the formulating of any 
immigration treaty with Japan, which shall discriminate 
against the Japanese and place them upon any different 
footing than are the people of any European country. 
The friendly relations between the two countries should 
be preserved and increased. Any disruption of those 
friendly relations would work to the serious detriment of 
the commercial interests of the Pacific Coast and would 
greatly check the growth and prosperity of this section 
of our country, thus narrowing our markets and curtail- 
ing the field of our laboring people, decreasing the de- 
mand for labor and lowering the rate of wages. 

It would curtail the market for our wheat and flour, 
and have a direct and damaging effect upon the farming 
interests of the entire West. It would have a far-reaching 
effect upon the shipments of steel rails, machinery and 
other manufactured materials by practically closing the 
ports of Japan, Corea and Manchuria to these ship- 
ments, and the employment of American capital and 
skilled labor in the wide field now offered by Japan for 
American enterprise and ingenuity.. 

Furthermore, the inauguration and enforcement of 
any such treaty discriminating against the Japanese 
must of necessity be left with Bureau officials, unfamiliar 
with the commercial relation now existing between the 
two countries, and unable through ignorance of these 

39 



conditions to treat either Japanese or Pacific Coast in- 
terests fairly and wisely. 

Therefore, in the opinion of this board, no interests 
of the Pacific Coast or of the United States at large will 
be served by any such treaty, while the commercial in- 
terests will be greatly and permanently damaged by any 
treaty action, which breaks the feeling of good will and 
mutual respect now prevailing between the two countries, 
and which is resulting in a large and mutually profitable 
trade between them. 

Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be trans- 
mitted to the President and the Secretary of State. 

III. 

Resolution of Portland Chamber of Cofyimerce, Adopted 
April 16, 1907. 

According to the report of the Associated Press dis- 
patches from Washington, the settlement of the question 
involving the right of Japanese children to attend the 
public school of San Francisco is to draw after it the 
negotiation of a new immigration treaty with Japan. 

It is the opinion of the Portland Chamber of Com- 
merce that a majority of the people of the Pacific Coast 
are not in favor of any immigration law that will treat 
the people of Japan differently from the way in which 
we treat the people of any European country. "VYe rec- 
ognize that the United States and the Empire of Japan 
are bound together by the ties of trade, commerce and 
old friendship, which in the past have proved of great 
advantage to both countries, and if preserved, contain 
a sure pledge of still greater benefits for the future. We 
believe that any immigration treaty, which would discrim- 
inate against Japan by denying to the people of that 
country ordinary rights or privileges granted to the 
people of other civilized nations, would be uncalled for 
and would be detrimental to the trade and commerce of 
the Pacific Coast, and by checking the growth, develop- 
ment and prosperity of this section, would tend directly 

40 



to narrow the field of employment for our own people 
and decrease the demand for our own labor. It would 
injure the Pacific Coast farmers by barring the way to 
a large and profitable market for flour and other food- 
stuffs. It would strike directly at those manufacturing 
industries throughout the country, which are now sup- 
plying steel rails, machinery, food and other appliances 
for the development of Japan, Corea and Manchuria. It 
would practically close Japan, Corea and Manchuria to 
American capital and to the use of American skilled la- 
bor that would otherwise be largely employed in the de- 
velopment of the resources of these countries. 

Moreover, as the enforcement of the terms of any 
new immigration treaty putting Japan on a different 
footing from that of other nations or any law or regula- 
tion made pursuant to such a treaty, would necessarily 
be in the hands of bureau officials, its administration 
would, in our opinion, be almost certain to sow the seeds 
of disagreements, dissension and strife between the two 
countries. 

Therefore, be it resolved, that in the opinion of this 
Chamber it would be against the best interests of the Pa- 
cific Coast and of the whole country to conclude any 
treaty or enact any law, the effect of which would be to 
treat the people of Japan in a manner different from 
the treatment accorded to the people of other civilized 
powers. 

Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be trans- 
mitted to the President and Secretary of State. 

IV. 

A Letter Addressed by San Francisco Chamber of Com- 
merce to Japanese Association of America. 

San Francisco, Cal., July 11th, 1907. 

Japanese Association of America, 

San Francisco, California. 
Gentlemen : 

The Trustees of the Chamber of Commerce beg to 

41 



acknowledge your very courteous letter of the 8th inst. 
and to reciprocate its kind expressions. 

We wish further to express our appreciation of the 
resolution you have passed, correcting the statement 
made by the Tokyo Chamber of Commerce, in which it 
appeared that the Japanese children are denied equal 
privilege in the public schools of San Francisco. Such 
frank expressions at this time, when there may be causes 
for irritation, are magnanimous and increase the re- 
spect and confidence of all fair-minded people. 

It is our conviction that there shauld be no unreas- 
onable restrictions placed upon the immigration of Jap- 
anese to this country, not merely because of the cormner- 
cial benefits mutually derived, but because of the tradi- 
tional friendship, which has existed between our country 
and the Empire of Japan, and which should be an imj- 
portant factor in the development of all countries bor- 
dering on the Pacific Ocean. 

The Trustees are therefore sending a copy of this 
letter to the President and Secretary of State, hoping 
thereby to assure the authorities of the friendly disposi- 
tion of our merchants to the Japanese people, and at the 
same time, bring about a better understanding and a 
more friendly feeling with the Japanese residents of our 
city. 

With assurances of esteem, we remain, 
Yours very truly, 

(Signed) C. H. BENTLEY, 

President. 

V. 

Resolution of Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, 
Adopted February 4, 1907. 

Resolved, That the Board of Directors of the Los 
Angeles Chamber of Commerce believes that the public 
sentiment of the State of California, and especially of 

42 



Southern California, upon the question of the exclusion 
of the Japanese from the general public school system of 
the State, has been to some extent misrepresented and is 
largely misunderstood ; and as representing the commer- 
cial and business interests of the second city of the State, 
and in view of the national importance which the question 
has assumed, the Board feels impelled to correct such 
misapprehension, so far as it is in its power to do. 

In the first place it would seem that the question is 
one of principle, or of sentiment, or of practical politics, 
rather than of immediate vital importance so far as it 
affects the welfare of the children of our public schools. 

The Board is reliably informed that when the ques- 
tion was first agitated, the total number of Japanese in 
the public schools of San Francisco was 93, of which 28 
were girls and 68 boys. Thirty-four of the boys were 
under sixteen years of age; of the thirty-one who were 
sixteen years and older only six were in the primary 
schools, the eldest being nineteen years old. There are 
about the same number of Japanese in the public schools 
of Los Angeles, and it is reported on good authority, 
both from San Francisco and Los Angeles, that no com- 
plaint of bad conduct on the part of Japanese scholars 
has ever come to the knowledge of the School Superin- 
tendent of either of these cities. 

This Board is convinced that the sentiment of the 
whole State is unanimously against the mingling in the 
primary grades of our schools of adults and adolescents 
of whatever race or nationality, with the younger chil- 
dren. 

Upon the main question, whatever may be the diver- 
sity of opinion upon the constitutional and legal phases, 
this Board is assured that the general trend of public 
opinion in Southern California is decidedly adverse to 
any discrimination against the Japanese as a people in 
matters of public school privileges, and they believe that 
this opinion is based upon considerations of equity and 
justice, and is held altogether independently of any at- 
titude which the Japanese government has assumed or 
may assume in regard to the question. 

43 



VI. 

A Joint Appeal Addressed by Chamhers of Commerce of 

Tokyo, Kyoto, Yokohama, Osaka and Kobe, to the 

Principal Chambers of Commerce in the 

United States Dated June 29, 1907. 

It has always been a matter of profound satisfac- 
tion to the people of Japan to witness the constant growth 
of cordial relations between onr two countries and of our 
community interests in the fields of trade and commerce, 
but since last year the people in a section of your country 
have unfortunately acted in a manner calculated to preju- 
dice the legitimate rights of the Japanese, who have been 
frequently subjected to unjust treatment at the hands of 
a lawless element prevailing there. 

The right of education has been denied them; their 
houses have repeatedly been attacked and their property 
destroyed without the least cause or provocation, with 
the result that not onl}^ have the treaty rights of the 
Japanese been wantonly disregarded, but their persons 
and property also have been exposed to serious danger. 

It is to be extremely regretted that such unfortu- 
nate incidents should be allowed to occur so frequently, 
as it is feared that unless they are speedily stopped, the 
ill-feeling our countrymen are now prone to harbor will 
be heightened, and that the attitude of the people of a 
single section of America may eventually have an un- 
happy effect upon the development of the commercial 
relations between the two nations, for while the United 
States is a good customer for our natural products, Japan 
is also increasing her demand for American goods, and 
pormises to become one of the most important markets 
for your ever-expanding and prosperous industries. 

Should the progress of trade and commerce be- 
tween the two countries become obstructed as a result of 
the unwarrantable action of a small section of your pop- 
ulation, the loss sustained by the two countries would be 
incalculable. We, therefore, venture to address you and 
express our views on the situation, confident in the hope 

44 



that they will be shared by you, and that you will, consid- 
ering the matter on the right principles of national in- 
tercourse and the mutual advantages of trade relations, 
do your best to speedily eliminate the present causes of 
discord and to insure our common prosperity for the 
future. 

Yours respectfully, 

B. NAKANO, 
President of Tokyo Chamber of Commerce. 

M. DOI, 
President of Osaka Chamber of Commerce. 

J. NISHIMURA, 
President of Kyoto Chamber of Commerce. 

K. ONO, 
President of Yokohama Chamber of Commerce. 

T. laSHIMOTO, 
President of Kobe Chamber of Commerce. 

VII. 

Reply of Seattle Chamber of Commerce to the Same. 

To The 

Tokyo Chamber of Commerce, 

Osaka Chamber of Commerce, 

Kyoto Chamber of Commerce, 

Yokohama Chamber of Commerce, and 
Kobe Chamber of Commerce : 

Sirs: 

We have the honor to acknowledge receipt of your 
letter of June 29th in relation to certain disturbances 
in San Francisco atfecting some of your countrymen 
dwelling there. 

The disturbances mentioned in your letter are purely 
local. They have been greatly magnified and we should 
infer from your letter that the reports of the occurrences 
which reached Japan are out of all proportion to the 
actual facts. This is usual in such cases. Reports from 
a long distance are generally apt to magnify the event 

45 



many times. Nevertheless all good citizens here deplore 
all such disturbances, however small. We believe that 
you will find, upon inquiry amongst your fellow coun- 
trymen here, that in Seattle the Japanese are treated with 
as much consideration as the people of any other country. 
On the other hand, it gives us pleasure to be able to say 
that we have always found them to be industrious, law- 
abiding and loyal residents of the Republic, and in Seattle 
we have uniformly treated them accordingly. We beg 
to enclose herewith a resolution of this Chamber of Com- 
merce which was adopted before your letter was written 
and which clearly shows our attitude toward your coun- 
trymen. 

In the future, as in the past, Seattle will always be 
found standing for justice and fair play for the Japanese 
as well as for all other nationalities within her borders. 
For more than ten years Seattle has been the American 
home port of the Nippon Yusen Kaisha, the great Jap- 
anese Steamship Company. This company has been a 
pioneer in opening up a profitable and friendly trade be- 
tween the two countries. Commerce in our day is the 
most powerful and persuasive ambassador of peace and 
good will among nations. It brings the people of the 
world closer together, removes prejudices and promotes 
national friendships. Not the least important mission of 
Chambers of Commerce — the spokesmen, so to speak, 
of the commerce of their respective countries— is to co- 
operate with one another in smoothing away and compos- 
ing the differences that inevitably arise from time to 
time between the peoples of different countries, as be- 
tween communities in the same country. In this spirit, 
and with this end in view, the Seattle Chamber of Com- 
merce extends to the Chambers of Commerce of the 
cities of Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Yokohama and Kobe its 
most friendly consideration and trusts that the good re- 
lations which have existed so long between our cities as 
between our two countries, and with such manifest ad- 
vantage to both, may continue unbroken into the far 
future. Yours very respectfully, 

C. B. YANDELL, JOHN H. McGRAW, 

July 30 1907. Secretary. President. 

46 



VIII. 

Reply of Chambers of Commerce of Tokyo, Kyoto, Yoko- 
hama, Osaka and Kobe to the Above. 

Tokyo, Japan, Oct. 15, 1907. 

Seattle Chamber of Commerce, 

Wasliiugton, U. S. A. 
Gentlemen : 

We have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of 
your letter dated the 30th Jnly, in reply to ours of June 
29th last. It is a source of profound satisfaction to note 
that our appeal has been received with so high sense of 
justice and equity, and that you are prepared to direct 
your efforts for the maintenance of the relations of per- 
fect understanding between the United States and Japan 
and for the promotion of the common interests by which 
the two nations are closely united. We are convinced 
that the friendly assurances contained in your letter 
under acknowledgement have produced the best impres- 
sion in the public mind in this country. In thanking you 
sincerely for such a frank and candid exposition of your 
views, we venture to express the hope that hereafter a 
similar exchange of views and mutual co-operation may 
be had between our respective Chambers of Commerce 
with reference to matters affecting the common interests 
of both countries, as occasion presents itself, with a view 
to safeguard those interests and thereby to assure the 
relations of good correspondence between the two nations. 

Yours respectfully, 

(Signed) B. NAKANO, 
President of Tokyo Chamber of Commerce. 

M. DOI, 
President of Osaka Cliamber of Commerce. 

J. NISHIMURA, 
President of Kvoto Chamber of Commerce. 

K. ONO, 
President of Yokohama Chamber of Commerce. 

T. KISHIMOTO, 
President of Kobe Chamber of Commerce. 

47 



IX. 

A Joint Appeal Addressed hy the Chambers of Commerce 

of Tokyo, Kyoto, Yokohama, Osaka and Kobe, 

to President Roosevelt, June 29, 1907. 

We have watched with profound satisfaction the 
growing strength of the bonds of traditional friendship 
between America and Japan, coupled with the steady 
progress of the commerce between the two nations. It is, 
therefore, a source of deep regret and concern to learn 
of the actions frequently reported since last year of a 
section of the community in San Francisco against Jap- 
anese residents there, whose persons and property have 
thus been exposed to serious danger. Wliile highly ap- 
preciating your unremitting efforts in the cause of jus- 
tice, we humbly think that if such abuses are allowed to 
continue, the development of commerce, based upon the 
friendly relations of the two nations, may be eventually 
retarded. 

We, the undersigned, representatives of Chambers 
of Commerce, taking special interest in the promotion 
of our mutual economic relations, are unable to remain 
silent spectators of this state of affairs. We accordingly 
have addressed the principal Chambers of Commerce in 
America, inviting them to exert their best efforts for the 
amelioration of the situation, relying at the same time 
upon your personality and wisdom for a speedy and sat- 
isfactory solution of existing difficulties, and we respect- 
fully appeal to you for your friendly spirit. 

Yours respectfully, 
(Signed) B. NAKANO, 
President of Tokyo Chamber of Commerce. 

M., DOI, 
President of Osaka Chamber of Commerce. 

J. NISHIMURA, 
President of Kyoto Chamber of Commerce. 
K. ONO, 
President of Yokohama Chamber of Commerce. 

T. KISHIMOTO, 
President of Kobe Chamber of Commerce. 

48 



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